Caryl Bryer Fallert's Bryerpatch Studio Gallery, Workshop Center, Residence in Paducah Kentucky

Bryerpatch Studio • Paducah Kentucky • Artists Relocation Program • Studio Tour • Quilt Art Gallery • Fabirc Shop • quilting patterns • quilt shops • quilting workshops

Welcome to the studio/quilt gallery/shop/classroom/and residence. Scroll down for pictures.

If you are traveling to Paducah, please come see us.
Information, Hours, Map, and Directions click here:
HTML format (loads faster)
Printable (PDF) format (650K): may take a minute to load

• Click on the pictures below for larger images.
• Use your BACK button to return to this page.
• Scroll down to see our progress from the beginning.
Guest Room Information
Classroom/meeting room/function room information

	Bryerpatch Studio building from 5th St. showing the shop entrance. Click here for pictures from the 2008 AQS Show
Building from Harrison St. showing entrance to residence.
.	Patio and sculpture garden between Bryerpatch Studio and the home of Dwain and Margie Smith next door on 5th St. This was a cooperative venture and is co-owned by Caryl and the Smiths. The patio and garden were designed by Morgen Turner/Turner Landscapes of Paducah.
The sculputre and fountain were designed by next door neighbor, artist Dwain Smith (pictured below on wheels).
	It's a great space for a neighborhood gathering.
Front door of shop, with stained glass transom designed by Caryl and made by Wanda Sanders of Paducah.
	Here we are in the shop, looking into classroom/gallery in the background. If you can't visit us in person, we will ship it to your front door from our secure Internet Store.
Our classroom (below) can be used for hands on workshops, seminars, community events and other functions. If you are interested in renting this room, click here for more information.
Here is the classroom set up for a community seminar. A door at the far corner of the room leads outside to the patio, fountain and sculpture garden. There is a large pull-down screen at the front of the room. A digital projector is mounted in the ceiling, and your computer can be plugged into an outlet at the front of the room. There is also an ethernet port, and the whole building has free wireless.
	Here is the classroom set up with chairs only for a lecture/demo. The double doors on the end lead into the dye studio/classroom annex, and the door in the far corner leads into the residence entry hall to the great room and kitchen.
A convenient mini-kitchen and coat closet are located near the handicapped bathroom between the shop and classroom.
	Hands-on quilting workshops will start soon. Let us know if you would like to be notified when we start scheduling classes. Here the room is set up for our retail customers during the big April quilt show.
Here we are looking through the double doors from the classroom into the dye studio. It serves as extra design space and classroom annex during workshops and extra lunch-room space when we host larger groups. Double doors at the back of the dye studio open onto the back patio.
Caryl's residence
	Doors from both the classroom and dye studio lead into the Harrison St. entry hall...
which leads into the great room and the kitchen, where lunch will be served during workshops and special events.
	The hallway also houses part of Caryl's personal collection of quilts by other artists. This is "The Problem with Princes" by Ellen Anne Eddy.
This quilt about remodeling and contractors is by Ruth Reynolds and is part of her 1995-1996 "Riva" series. It was a gift on the last day of my kitchen rennovation in Illinois. It is a perfect quilt for the residents of LowerTown Paducah, where everyone is either building or renovating.
	Our kitchen is designed for entertaining, with a 4'x10' island in the center.
Yes......it is large. It's designed to seat 20-30 for lunch when we have workshops, seminars, and community events.
	At the far end of the kitchen are three small quilts made by friends from Chicago. Click below for close-ups. Laura Wasilowski - Miniature Paintbrush quilt Jane Sassaman - "O" Click here for close-up Sharon Malec - Orangutan Click here for close-up
A collection of South African baskets sit atop the pantry.
	The great room is next to the Kitchen off the main hallway.
The great room is filled with work by other quilt artists and other art I have collected from my lifetime of travels around the world.
	A doll by Elinor Peace Baily sits atop hand made pillows on a red velvet fainting couch.
"Tabaski Ram" by Hollis Chatelain hangs on the west side of the room. This is one of Hollis's painted quilts based on photographs she took during her many years living in West Africa. For a close-up of the quilt click here or on the picture. For information about the artist, click here.
	Penny Sisto's "Woman of the Corn" hangs on the other side of the window. Like Hollis, Penny also live in Africa for several years, and makes quilts based on her experiences there. Click here or on the picture for a close-up. Click here for information about the artist.
.The breakfront in great room was designed around a set of antique, prairie style windows purchased in Chicago in 1977. A lifetime collection of antique milk glass and many or my crystal quilting awards are housed within.
	In the center of the breakfront is a machine embroidered work by Barbara Lee Smith. It is in a style she used for many of the commissions she did for public buildings in Chicago. Click here or on the picture for a close-up. Click here for information about the aritst.
The ceiling in the great room is twenty-one feet high. A mural of sky, clouds, and one bird was painted by Lana Watkins of Brookport Illinois.
	A stairway leads from the main entry hall to the second floor landing. Here's another view of the ceiling from the second floor.
On the landing at the top of the stairs is a door leading to the second floor balcony and one of my quilts called Hidden Influences #2. Click the picture for an enlarged view. Click here for the story and larger pictures of the quilt. The door on the left leads into the master suite.
	The quilt in the master bedroom is Cathedral Window, the only quilt I every made with both hand piecing and hand quilting. Read about it here.
The master suite is designed to double as a private sitting room when all of the guest rooms are full.
	Above the whirlpool tub is a stained glass window based on one of Caryl's quilt designs. The stained glass made by Wanda Sanders of Paducah. The whirlpoos tub is surrounded by a lifetime collection of pebbles and shells picked up in my travels around the world.
The library is in second floor hallway

Left side view	Right side view
A quilt by Melody Johnson hangs at one end of the hallway. Click here for a close-up of the quilt.
	Poochie Smoochie also hangs in the Library over a shelf of full of my late husband Bob's favorite things. Click here for the story and larger pictures of the quilt.
A comfy reading and TV room is at the end of the library next to the guest wing.
If you would like to rent a guest room please click here for fees and availability (NOTE: They are already reserved during the quilt show in 2008)
Guest Room 1 2 comfortable twin beds ~ 2 comfortable chairs ~ 2 bedside lamps with daylight bulbs ~ 9 spacious dresser drawers ~ desk with (free) ethernet port ~ private bath with full tub/shower and 5' vanity ~ 5'+ closet ~ access to coffee maker, microwave, mini-fridge ~ door onto balcony

Guest Room 2 2 comfortable beds (1 twin & 1 full) ~ 2 comfortable chairs ~ 2 bedside lamps with daylight bulbs ~ 9 spacious dresser drawers ~ desk with (free) ethernet port ~ private bath with full tub/shower and 5' vanity ~ 5'+ closet ~ access to coffee maker, microwave, mini-fridge ~ door onto balcony

Back balcony: accessible from both guest rooms and the main second floor hallway by the library.
	In case we have more guests than the guest rooms will hold we even have an overflow room. We call this the quilters dormitory.
The quilt above the beds is a friendship quilt made for me by quilting friends from all over the country when I retired from United Airlines. Click here or on the picture for a close-up of the quilt. There are some very well know names here.
Caryl's personal design studio
	My personal work space is on the second floor directly above the shop and office/shipping rooms. This is the "office" end of the studio, where I design my quilts and publish our patterns and workshops on CD-ROM.
The main design computer is hooked up to a bevy of printers and scanners.
	The quilts are constructed at the other end of the room in the sewing studio.
I generally keep a couple of regular sewing machine set up for different kinds of sewing or different kinds of thread. A large ironing board rests on top of rolling drawer units holding thread notions and tools. A larger industrial machine is used primarily for quilting.
	More coming soon.
Below are progress photos of the building's construction, from June of 2005 through September 2006
	The final certificate of occupancy came in September of 2006, and the final details were finished in November 2006
MAY 2006: After the quilt show we moved our business office, sewing machines, and design studio into the new space. The computers and sewing machines are behind temporary walls in the Gallery/Classroom while we wait for the rest of the building to be finished. As soon as we are able to move the computers and sewing machines into Caryl's private studio upstairs, we will start scheduling workshops.
Our contractors still aren't making any promises about when that will be. Ceramics by Caryl's neighbor Teri Moore are on display during the Lower Town Arts Festival (Memorial Day weekend).
	May 16, 2006: The brick is still going up, but most of the walls are covered, at least from this angle.
April 24, 2006: QUILT SHOW WEEK!!! The doors of our shop and gallery are finally open, just in time for the big AQS Quilt Show, and the crowds started pouring in immediately.
	I couldn't have done it without my wonderful friends and helpers. Everyone had their own Bryerpatch Studio apron. We had extras for anyone who wanted to stop in and help for a while.
Our future classroom was full of quilts and our brand new line of "gradations" from Benartex was displayed on tables. Our "daylight" bulbs, were chosen to give future workshop participants the best possible task lighting. They showed off the colors beautifully.
	We had enthusiastic shoppers...
and comfortable seating for those with shorter attention spans.
	The rest of the building is still under construction, and we have no promises about a final completion date.
April 13, 2006 The stained glass for the transom is installed, and it makes us easy to recognize after dark. Caryl created the design, and the window was made by LowerTown Paducah artist Wanda Sanders.
	Meanwhile, the weather is absolutely perfect, and our country home in Kuttawa is beautiful. Miz Beulah's irises are blooming and the forest is sprinkled with dots of white dogwood.
April 11, 2006 There are lots of people working today to get the studio open by Quilt Week (April 24-29). All the parking places are taken. Channel 6 (NBC) sent out a reporter and cameraman to cover the action, and the camera man for the Quilt Channel (13) was there to film the final column being installed.
	WE HAVE COLUMNS!!! At last, those spindly little 2x4's have given way to real columns. They look so much better. Here is the very last column being hoisted into place. That big crane is holding up the roof while the column is positioned.
The brick work continues. Hopefully they'll have all that ugly pink stuff covered before the Quilt Show. The contractor told the TV crew that there are 80,000 bricks. I'm glad I don't have to count them.
	April 1, 2006 Only three weeks to go until the big quilt show, and we're focusing on getting the classroom, shop and office finished, so we can be open. The brick is up to the roof on most of the front section of the building, and the tile is finished.
Concrete was poured yesterday, and this is a view of the new sidewalk and front porch. Scroll down for interior shot of the second floor studio.
	March 25, 2006 There were actually bricklayers on the job for a few hours today. (First time I've see any contractors working on Saturday in Paducah)
This will be my private working studio on the second floor. The rest of the building will have neutral colors, but in my personal workspace I chose bright colors that make me happy. I have never seen a blue and yellow quilt I didn't love, so I'm using blue and yellow tile in a checker board pattern on my floor. It looks like a vast empty space here, but wait until I get all my stuff in it. It's about the same size as my studio in Chicago, so I know I'll use every inch of it.
	March 17, 2006 We finally have brick reaching all the way to the top of one wall. YEAAAAAAAH!!! We also have a heater blasting away inside, drying the drywall in the shop, office and gallery on the first floor. We are on a big push to get these three rooms finished for the big quilt show the end of April. We also have the first of our floor tile starting in the working studio on the second floor(scroll down for a preview) OK, so this is not the worlds most beautiful photograph, but I was pretty excited to see this wall finished. After driving around Lower Town and looking at all of the brick buildings, I noticed that most of the old buildings had darker mortar, and most of the newer ones had lighter mortar. I decided I wanted the building to blend into the neighborhood of old Victorians and look like it had always been here. I chose a darker mortar that is more or less the same value (light/dark) as the brick.
March 9, 2006 We're having monsoons, but the brick is finally starting up the side of the building. Inside work has gone forward. On the second floor the drywall is finished and painted. Hopefully the drywall on the first floor will be finished soon.
	January 16, 2006 Yes, we're still pink, but the gables and soffits are looking good with white trim and fish scale shingles.. We had some cold weather, and the bricklaying crew had to finish another building before they started ours. We're hoping for warm, dry weather next week, so the brick layers can start.
December 6, 2005 We're still pink, but brick has been delivered to the front yard, and as soon as the temperature rises above 40° we will become "Classic Lower Town Red". In the meantime, the carpenter is finishing the last details of the walls and closets inside. The furnaces have been delivered, and ductwork is going into the spaces between the first and second floors. The electrician is hanging the first of the lighting fixtures, and the plumber did his first walk-through. I'm making lots of finishing decisions like tile, carpeting, counter tops, woodwork, door knobs, sinks, etc. etc. etc. Who knew there would be so many decisions?	.
	November 21, 2005 More doors and windows are installed. In Lower Town, everyone seems to use the same pink vapor barrier. At one time or another everyone gets to be "the new pink house". Now it's our turn.
November 15, 2005 It's getting pinker, and windows and doors are beginning to fill the holes in the walls.
	November 15, 2005 The front porch is built, we have shingles on the roof, and the pink vapor barrier is starting to go up on the outside of the building. The sirens wail as tornados blow through the area, and the temperature falls from the 70's to the 20's. We do a walk through with Phyllis the lighting designer while it's still warm, and the next day, we walk through in bitter cold with Willie, the computer network expert, and Charlie, the speaker wiring expert. Can't wait to get some windows installed
November 1, 2005 Plywood is on the roof, and black paper stuff is nailed down in preparation for the shingles. I pushed the wrong button on my camera, and got a little overexposed on this picture.
	October 17, 2005 Roof trusses are being lifted by the white truck.
October 5, 2005 Plywood starts on second floor, and the roof trusses have been delivered to the front yard..
	September 25, 2005 We have more walls on the second floor.
September 17, 2005 We finally have walls rising on the second floor, and with stairways installed we can go up and see the view. From the second floor balcony we can see all the way to Illinois.
	August 25, 2005 Plywood starts to sheath the outside walls, and we can now see rooms inside.
Mid-August 2005 We have a few more walls on the first floor.
	Early August 2005 The first walls rise, and I'm teaching at Quilting by the Lake in New York. This picture was E-mailed to me by Bernie Hebert, one of my new neighbors.
July 2005 We have a concrete slab with lots of pipes sticking out.
	June 2005 We're finally breaking ground.
April 2005 We now own the lot, but we're still waiting for approval of our plans by HARC (Historic and Architectural Review Committee). The sign was up in time for the quilt show, and the guard rabbits were in place.
	September 2004 We selected an empty lot at the corner of 5th and Harrison in the Lower Town Historic District of Paducah. It took several months for the city to get a clear title to the property, so we waited until January 2005 to make application for the lot through the Artists Relocation Program.